Thursday, December 30, 2004
On the 28th and the 29th of December, I volunteered for the Sharity Gift Box event organised annually by the Boys’ Brigade. On the 28th, I was assigned to wear my uniform and got to a few homes to distribute food stuff, together with a volunteer Taxi Driver. My duty was to distribute the food to people in one of the Beach Road Blocks. As I approached the first home, on the 8th floor, an awful stench emanated from the unit. I knocked on the door and it was until 10minutes later, a frail old lady with a hunched backopened the door. The stench of faeces overwhelmed me. As I peered into the one room flat, I saw a lot of faeces in one corner. The ‘house’ was no bigger than a class-room and it was a <<3-in-one>>kind of thing. One that that caught my attention was the old lady. Although she lived in such conditions, she was not sad or anything. She welcomed me with a big smile and as I passed her the foodstuff, her smile grew more radiant. Though she did not know how to speak English, her eyes glistened with a million thank yous. From her, I learnt that her home is in such a condition due to not being able top pay for a plumber to fix her broken toilet, hence the pile of faeces. She does not have any children that can support and relies on community help which comes once a month to help clean her home.
That experience drilled one thing into me: be contented with what you have. Being poor does not mean not being able to buy a digital cam, XBOX, PS2, or handphone. The real definition of being poor is when one cannot even afford to pay for a plumber, have 3 proper meals and proper clothing….
Next year, I promise to be a volunteer again…
PhoeNix 10:44 PM